Easter egging

I think we now know what we'll be doing over Easter & beyond. We fly out to Faro on 31 March and have two weeks to get the boat to Gibraltar. Fingers somewhat crossed, as it's possible we'll come up against two solid weeks of strong easterly winds... but unlikely (I hope). Sam has been in extensive correspondence with the marinas at Ceuta and Marina Smir, both on the Morocco side of the straits, and we hope to leave Sam and Kalessin in one of them when Ben, Guy and I fly home from Malaga on the 16th.

Another thing to worry about: the easiest way to get from Ceuta to Malaga is by helicopter. What a fabulous idea, and my beloved aunt has just sent the boys a joint birthday cheque which would cover the cost. However, you have to book in advance, but at present we don't know for sure that we'll be able to get there....aaargh! and the helicopter company website doesn't seem to be working, which is rather worrying. Otherwise it means staying overnight, probably in Torremolinos, which I discover to my horror is the nearest town to Malaga airport.

Sam will stay with Kalessin for a few days, checking the bottom & anti-fouling etc before flying home and heading to Guernsey for a court hearing (family thing) on 1 May. Then he's back here until my parents' 160th birthday party on 19 May, and then he has a month to take the boat to the Balearics with Paul and Val from Intemperance...